Andhra Pradesh: APSRTC goof-up lands state government in trouble

TIRUPATI: A major goof-up by the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) landed the state government in a major embarrassment after the bus tickets issued by the state run public transport was found to have carried information related to the state sponsored pilgrimage tour to Jerusalem. This sparked off a major row, even as various political parties including the Bharatiya Janata party and Hindu religious heads alleged foul-play behind the incident which happened on Thursday. People related to other religion became unhappy after noticing the Jerusalem related info behind their tickets on Thursday night. By Friday morning, the Andhra Pradesh government and the state run public transport corporation came under fire as different sections of the society including devotees, leaders of political parties, spiritual gurus and pontiffs criticized the state government, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams administration and the APSRTC for becoming a party to the goof-up. Bharatiya Janata party leaders led by former TTD trust board member G Bhanu Prakash Reddy staged protests at the APSRTC's regional manager's office in Tirupati and demanded a thorough probe into the incident. The former trust board member said it was unfortunate that the state government which was entrusted the responsibility of ensuring communal harmony in the state by prohibiting any kind of proselytism at Tirumala as per the established laws under the AP endowments act. ''Bharatiya Janata party will intensify the agitation if the state government does not come clean in its probe and crack the whip against all those involved in the act as the incidents have hurt the sentiments of millions of devotees of Lord Venkateswara across the globe'', Bhanu Prakash Reddy warned.

Visakha Saradha Peetham pontiff Swami Swaroopanandendra Saraswati too expressed strong resentment over the incident. Recalling that it was former chief minister Dr YS Rajasekhar Reddy who initiated stringent measures and brought in amendments to the existing acts to prohibit any form of proselytism at Tirumala and other prominent shrines of Hindu worship in the state, the Vishaka Sharada Peetham pontiff demanded the state government to order a probe into the incident and punish the guilty. Bowing down to the mounting pressure, the state government immediately ordered a probe into the incident. Andhra Pradesh endowments minister Vellampalli Srinivasa Rao clarified that the state government had ordered a thorough probe into the incident and underlined that none would be spared whose involvement would be established in the probe.